Wednesday, July 3, 2013

General Fry, Forgotten Hero of Pickett's Charge

Who remembers Burkett Davenport Fry, Confederate General, buried at Oakwood cemetery in Montgomery in a long forgotten grave?. He and Oates are both buried in Oakwood, but who is famous? Neither of them today, but instead, Hank Williams!!!

Fry, since you probably don't remember, was a commander of one of the lead brigades during Pickett's charge on the last day of fighting at Gettysburg. He was wounded four times, at Seven Pines, Antietam, Chancellorsville and lastly at Gettysburg.

How did it happen that he got to lead the charge? With the capture of Archer on July 2nd, Fry assumed command of Archer's Brigade of Tennesseans and Alabamians and helped lead the July 3rd attack that became famous as Pickett's Charge. Did Fry get any credit? Well, heck no.

Nice guys finish last, don't they, after all? But we can go see his grave any time we want to...a friend went today and took flowers, in memory - 150 years ago today.